Hope and Choice
by XxSayuyaxX
Summary: The universe is all about balance. Good and Evil. The Eternal Struggle. It is said that the Shikon no Tama needs a pure wish to be destroyed and that requires a good, pure person. So when Naraku is defeated and the Jewel gone, that leaves a lot of extra purity in the world... and there must be balance. (Rated for language)
1. Chapter 1 - Just My Luck

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome screamed as she let the arrow fly.

"Huh? Fuck!" yelled the hanyou when he saw the projectile of demonic doom speeding his way. Hitting the ground fast and cursing the wench the whole time, he leapt back up as soon as it was clear and continued on his bloody way, still cussing.

It barely grazed the youkai she was aiming for; but despite that, the pure amount of power in the arrow got the job done anyway. Kagome had gotten better in her priestess skills, but she was still nowhere near the level she needed to be for this fight. She thought to herself as she nocked another arrow, "Well, at least I'm better than the 15 year old high schooler who had never held a bow in her life, that I used to be..."

Honestly, the only reason she ever hit anything most of the time, is that the large majority of her opponents just happen to be huge targets. It's hard to miss a screaming demon the size of a building. Smaller screaming demons are a different story. Slightly shaking her head and mentally slapping herself, Kagome told herself to get with it and focus. Her entire thought process had only taken a moment of time so now she saw that her arrow was actually still in flight. She couldn't believe her eyes! It was actually heading straight for Naraku and his back was turned!

He had no idea what was coming because his attention was focused on trying to knock Sango and Kirara out of the sky with his tentacles. She could only stand there and hope her luck, just this once, would last. She was so focused on the path of her arrow that she didn't notice another youkai running up behind her until it was too late. The last things Kagome knew was Naraku turning toward her as her arrow broke through his shield, a sudden, terrible pain in her shoulder, and she was just conscious enough on her way to meet the dirt, to notice the arrow she had been ready to fire, leaving her fingertips.

"Ughhhhh..." Kagome groaned as she rubbed her head, her eyes still closed.

"I feel like I single-handedly drank 4 bottles of Vodka and then finished the night with whiskey shots and this the morning after. What the hell happened that my head feels like it's on the butt end of the worst hangover in the history of ever?"

"Well, the simple answer is, you died" said an unknown, female voice from her left.

Popping her eyes open and instantly thankful for the very dim light, her intelligent answer to that was, "Huh?"

As she attempted to sit up, she thought to herself, 'You know... This is just my luck...'


	2. Chapter 2 - Debating With the Dead

The woman next to her was beautiful, but not in the usual way. Her hair was jet black, like her own, mostly straight with just a slight wave and very long. Her eyes were the color of sapphires and just as hard, where Kagome's were blue-gray and full of emotion like the sea. A small, heart-shaped face with small, pouty lips completed her most striking features. After that, Kagome's gaze slowly dropped downward, adding a long, lean but strong body to the mix. Perfectly balanced in her upper and lower features, her chest wasn't small but was by no means ample; most of it came from her wide shoulders. Her hips were slim but not unnaturally so, it was obvious there was a lot of running involved in this woman's life.

Yet, even for all this lady's beauty, Kagome couldn't help but notice that she would look remarkably awkward in any sort of gown or kimono that most women of this era wore. Instead, she was clothed in full battle regalia: from her neck to her toes, this woman was dressed for battle. Though the make was old, it was obviously of the best quality. Shoulder plates and chest armor were her main defenses, her arms and legs were covered in thick, obviously durable cloth to less hamper her movement. Black, hide boots concealed her feet, and next to them lay a sword, completing the look.

There was a certain aura about her though. Kagome realized this is what would make her look foolish in court gowns. This woman had a warrior's air about her; as if at any moment, she could turn from sipping tea to lopping off someone's head without missing a beat.

"If you are finished perusing my person, there are matters to discuss" said the woman, looking slightly vexed.

~*What felt like several hours later*~

"So, let me make sure I got all this straight. You're telling me, that with my ever-fantastic luck, I killed Naraku with an arrow that wasn't even actually aimed at him, but at the same time, one of his minions, not even a strong one, snuck up behind me, nearly split me in half with his claws, and I'm now dead? And on top of that, the completed Shikon no Tama, of it's own accord, returned itself to me, re-fused itself to my hip, where it came from in the first place, erected a barrier around me, again, by itself, healed all my physical injuries, though I'm still dead, reunited my soul, killing Kikyo in the process, and I'm now floating in the middle a battleground, dead, encased in aforementioned barrier, with my friends all probably freaking out, trying to figure out why my corpse is in a floating bubble? Oh! and while that's all happening out there, my remaining consciousness is inside the Shikon that is inside my body, and I'm sitting here, having a dandy conversation with you- and you just so happen to be the legendary Midoriko. Did I get all that right?" a near hysterical Kagome questioned, though not sure if she believed any of it. In the back of her mind, she thought, 'I wonder what the nice men in white coats would think of my delusions?'

"Actually, the arrow you mentioned only broke Naraku's barrier. It was your second arrow, powered by your remaining life-force, that actually killed him" said a sagely nodding Midoriko, as if it was a very important fact.

Kagome starting giggling in hysteria, "Oh! That's right, I destroyed the most evil creature in the world with not one, but two arrows that I wasn't even aiming! How could I forget?" Her giggles continued, slowly morphing into a deranged cackle.

Midoriko leveled a dead-pan stare at the teenager "Don't go insane now, girl. There are still more important matters that I must tell you of and you must be sane and lucid for them. If you wish to give up your sanity afterward, please feel free. Until then, knock off your nonsense and listen up"


	3. Chapter 3 - Life and Lemons

Kagome slowly came back to herself and stopped laughing. There was _more_ to discuss? What other craziness could possibly be added to her plate? She sat up straighter and slowly nodded to the legendary priestess to let her know she could continue.

"Now that we are caught up on what happened, we can focus on the future. As you pointed out, your body is currently in a state of suspended animation. It is dead but is not deteriorating. There is a reason for this- you have a choice to make regarding the Shikon no Tama-"

"Yeah, I know" Kagome said, cutting the other woman off from continuing. "I have to make a pure wish in order to destroy it"

"That's not all there is to it though," said Midoriko, glaring. "Yes, a pure wish is required to rid the world of the Jewel; however, part of the legend was forgotten in the telling. The Jewel is made up of two opposing forces: namely, good and evil. That is why youkai can use it as well as priests and priestesses. It can fall either way and that is the source of your choice. In the fight for the Shikon, you amassed many enemies and friends alike. Some of them had prior history with the Jewel and/or Naraku and others did not. None of them however, could stay neutral to the battle going on around them.

"Everyone involved was forced to make a choice: would they follow the path of light or the path of darkness? Would they join your quest to get rid of the Jewel or Naraku's quest to obtain and control it? In doing so, the forces of good and evil both grew to new heights. Now, at the end of it all, Naraku, the largest and by far the darkest, of evil's forces is vanquished with the Jewel purified and ready to be wished from existence.

"But what of the balance? You have done some of the greatest good the world will ever see and yet, for that, it is in bigger peril than ever before. There cannot be such a large gap between the forces of good and evil or the world will simply cease to exist. There has to be balance for the world to function. Therein lies your choice.

"You can wish the Jewel away with a truly pure wish. This would rid the world of it forever just as the story says and forever stop the fight for such magnificent power. This, again, is the good thing to do, but if you do that, there must also be a price. With the Jewel and Naraku both gone, there must be a replacement to even the odds again. In essence, you would be choosing to be rid of a known danger in order to gain a new, unknown evil for the world to fight.

"Or, you can take the easier, simpler way. You may simply wish yourself back to life or something equally selfish. It would cause the Jewel to leave you and reappear somewhere else"

Rolling her eyes slightly, Midoriko added, "It would probably end up in a youkai's lap since the world has a way of restoring it's own balance when given the chance"

Realizing that she had gotten a bit off topic, the warrior priestess sobered and looked Kagome dead in the eye. "That is your choice- the easier path or the harder. Which do you choose?"


	4. Chapter 4 - Tears of the Pure

"Wait, wait, wait! Now hold on!" Kagome spoke up quite loudly. "Don't I get some time to think about this? I mean, you can't just expect me to make a choice this important at the snap of your fingers! I mean, I don't want to make a selfish wish- but wouldn't a known evil be better for the world?"

"I cannot give you any opinions on the matter, this is a choice for you alone, Kagome. You are the Shikon Miko, therefor the decision sits firmly in your lap" Midoriko informed the poor young woman. As much as she wished to help her or ease her decision, she could not. The Kami would not allow it.

"But do I at least get some time to think about it?" Kagome asked, having latched onto the fact that the other woman had not answered that particular question.

"How much time do you want, Kagome? As was said earlier, your body is currently floating in the middle of a battlefield. How long would you like it to stay that way? Your corpse is not deteriorating but that does not mean that time is standing still" Midoriko pointed out.

Kagome felt tears well up in her eyes and she wasn't sure if it was from sadness, fear or anger. She had effectively killed the most evil being the world had ever known, died for doing it, and now she had to decide the world's fate at the drop of a dime? How screwed up was that? She felt a tear slowly make it's way down her cheek, quickly followed by another on the other side.

"Alright" she whispered. Thinking quickly and adding up the pros and cons, it inevitably came down to this: her friends would never forgive her if she threw away the years it took to finally get rid of the blasted thing. They had all been hurt so much by it... she couldn't stand the thought of purposely making a selfish wish to keep it in existence. Her mind made up, she looked at Midoriko with hard conviction in her eyes.

"Like you said, the world will keep it's balance, no matter what. I can't knowingly make a selfish wish- not only does it go against everything I am, but I would feel as if the years spent collecting the shards were for nothing. I will make a pure wish and destroy the Jewel, come what may"

The famous miko knew that despite her unwillingness to do so, Kagome would eventually come to this decision. It simply was not in her to do otherwise; the Kami had created her as such.

"Then wish, Kagome, Miko of the Shikon. Wish a pure wish and rid the world of the Jewel's influence forever"


	5. Chapter 5 - Light Bulb!

Kagome nodded her head to the ancient miko and thought... and thought, and thought some more. Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth and starting to sweat under the intense gaze of Midoriko, she finally snapped.

"I don't know what to wish for! It's supposed to be a pure wish, but everything I think of can be construed as selfish in some way. I could wish for my friends to all have their happy endings but that would make _me_ happy so that wouldn't work. A truly unselfish wish would probably be helping one of my enemies, I guess but..."

"Kagome," Midoriko started the younger miko out of the beginnings of her tirade. "you're over thinking things. I cannot tell you what to wish for, but I believe that the simplest answer is usually the right one"

At that, Kagome suddenly had an epiphany. Midoriko almost laughed at the comical "Oh!" look that came over the young woman's face.

"That's it! Thank you, Midoriko! It was so obvious. I've been wracking my brain ever since I found out the Jewel needed an unselfish wish and could never find an answer but it was right there the whole time! My whole journey has been about putting the Jewel back together and ridding the world of it so that everything could be the way it was supposed to be." Kagome explained triumphantly.

Nodding, Midoriko smiled. She was proud of the young miko in front of her. She set her hand on the girl's- no, woman's shoulder, honestly but pleasantly surprised that one so young had managed to accomplish so much.

"Now Kagome, since we are not actually in the living realm with the Jewel, you will need to call it to you to make the wish. Use your ability to sense the Jewel and command it. Tell it to come to you. It must be an order with no give behind it, as the Jewel will sense your will to destroy it and will seek to fight you and convince you to reconsider. Do not listen to the pull, order it here and make your wish quickly before it has a chance to try anything" Midoriko explained, trying to convey the gravity of what she was saying. This was incredibly important; if Kagome failed to command the Jewel, it could take control of her spirit and try to force a different wish from her.

Eyes flashing with ferocity, Kagome took a step back. She closed her eyes and reached out for the oh-so-familiar feel of the Jewel. It took a couple moments since she wasn't used to having reach from a different plane of existence but found it quickly enough. Now that it was whole, the pull of the Jewel was stronger than ever and was honestly kind of hard to miss, even from a different plane. Quickly, she "grasped" the Jewel with her will and commanded it with every ounce of her being.


	6. Chapter 6 - Sadistic Smile

Midoriko watched as the space between Kagome's hands began to glow. Faint, but getting brighter by the moment, the outline of the infamous Jewel slowly came into view. Sweat began to bead on the young woman's forehead as if she were straining with all her might; Midoriko had no doubt that she was.

Kagome pulled as hard as she could but the Jewel was fighting, _hard_. When Midoriko said the Jewel might put up a fight, she thought she knew what to expect. Turns out, she had no idea- this was actually _painful_ with how hard she had to strain to force the Jewel into this plane. The closest thing she could equate the feeling with was when Urasue tried to forcibly remove her soul. This time though, instead of the whole thing being ripped from her, it felt as if she and the Jewel were playing tug-of-war with it and it was being torn in two. At least with Urasue it had been rather quick.

On top of that lovely feeling, the Jewel was also playing mind games with her, trying to get her to falter, trying to distract her. It switched between horrid, grisly scenes of her friends dead, torn to shreds, and picture perfect, sappy, fairy tale endings. It was the worst case of good cop, bad cop she had ever heard of. The worst part was that it was working and the Jewel knew it. The thought that the Jewel might win was scary enough to her that it began _that _against her.

She was slipping and she knew it but she was already fighting as hard as she could. She didn't know how she could possibly put up more of a fight than she already was. That is, until the Jewel made the mistake of using the worst possibility yet: the Jewel controlling her and using her to kill all her friends. It then chose to pick out Shippo and show her worst nightmare to her.

The poor little kitsune cried out to her, pleading with her to stop, that he was scared and didn't understand what was happening or why she was doing this. The Jewel zoomed in really close to Shippo's face and the Jewel-controlled Kagome picked him up. He was shaking so hard that he had trouble speaking. Suddenly though, for just a split second, he stopped and was unnervingly still. Then he was screaming. It is said a picture is worth a thousand words and his tiny, childish face needed both 10,000 words and only one to describe. Agony. Mouth agape, eyes wide, pupils dilated so far that the iris was nearly nonexistent, he screamed like only one dying a horrific and tragically painful death can.

The picture in her minds eye panned out to show her what was happening. Ever so slowly, she could start to make out the rest of the picture: her hand on his back came into view. In a sickening semblance of comfort, she was rubbing his back but as she was doing this, her hand was glowing. She was purifying him. Not only that, but the Jewel-controlled Kagome was doing it excruciatingly slowly with only the intent to cause as much pain as possible before he finally died. By the time the entire image was in view, she could see herself smiling in a way that she had only ever seen Naraku smile and Shippo, poor little Shippo, was still screaming.


	7. Chapter 7 - Glaring Jewelry

She was sick to her stomach by the time the images faded from her mind and she had the distinct impression of falling to her knees. She thought she would black out from the pain in her heart and soul. Despite the years spent traipsing through the Sengoku Jidai, she had never seen an expression like that on anyone's face. At least no one that was still alive by the time she got there.

She was shaking; she wasn't even really aware of her physical body at the moment, at least as physical as it got on this plane, but she was so repulsed and upset that even her very essence was shaking. She couldn't stop trembling no matter how hard she tried. The image of Shippo screaming in excruciating pain was stuck in her mind's eye; the same few moments replying over and over. Tears gathered in her eyes even as she fought them back.

She could not be weak right now, that's what the Jewel wanted. She stopped and thought about that statement. That's right, it wasn't real. Shippo was fine, her body was still in a suspended animation, Midoriko was waiting for her and the only thing that was threatening anyone right now was her own weakness. How could she possibly win this fight if she let the Jewel get to her that easily? But still... nothing she had ever seen before sickened her like that.

She gave herself a mental head shake. If she wanted to protect Shippo, she had to destroy the Jewel and if she wanted to do that, she had to win this mental tug-of-war. Midoriko warned her the Jewel would fight back. This was how it was going to do it and now she was _pissed_. No one threatened the boy she secretly thought of as her son like that and that included thrice damned jewels!

Her resolve restored, she yanked the Jewel toward her. There was no trying anymore; as far as Kagome was concerned, there was only one ending to this battle- the Jewel destroyed and gone. No longer was losing even an option in her mind. In fact, there weren't any other thoughts in her mind at all. Her entire being was made up of one purpose: win.

Suddenly, there was a _snap_ sensation and she knew she had won. She knew the Jewel was now on this plane with her and it was time to make her wish. She opened her eyes and looked down to find the Jewel resting in her palms. Despite the fact that it had no eyes or any other features to make it possible, she got the distinct impression that it was glaring at her.


	8. Chapter 8 - Wishing in Limbo

Standing and attempting to get her bearings back, Kagome looked at Midoriko to find the elder miko beaming at her.

"You did quite well, Kagome. I am very proud of you." she told Kagome.

"Yeah, well... I almost wasn't able to do it. Honestly, I almost broke" she said, looking away in shame. She couldn't believe the Jewel had nearly won with such a tactic. Especially since it was something Naraku would try to use and she really should have seen it coming, or at least been used to it enough to not let it effect her so much.

"It doesn't matter what you almost did or didn't do. What matters is that you succeeded and now you need to make that wish" Midoriko reminded her.

"Right" came Kagome's reply. Her gaze steeled and her stance widened marginally. As Midoriko looked on, she couldn't help but notice that the younger woman almost looked like she was getting ready to fight someone, not make a wish and would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. She watched as Kagome closed her eyes and began to speak to the Jewel.

"I wish... I wish the Shikon no Tama out of existence" she stated with finality. Midoriko's eyes widened in surprise and her last thought before she faded from limbo was, 'Oh no...'


	9. Chapter 9 - Yep! Everything Works

She felt it as the Jewel slowly vanished. It disintegrated in her hands but that wasn't what she truly _felt_. It was her soul, her heart, her blood, her mind, her entire being that felt it. Not only was the Jewel disappearing, but it was... leaving a mark on her. She couldn't explain it but she felt it with every fiber of her being: she was shifting, _changing_.

It was the oddest sensation. There was no real, physical change that she could see or feel but it was there; it was impossible to describe or explain. Her attention shifted from her momentary confusion to the very last of the Jewel's form finally fading from the palms of her hands. She couldn't believe it was finally gone.

Again, her attention shifted. She looked at her hands and again she had the strangest feeling of being different. Staring at her hands, she couldn't define any real change. There were no marks, cuts or bruises on her palms and when she flipped them over, there was again nothing out of the ordinary. Looking down at herself, she took stock.

Yep, both legs are still attached and in working order. Uh huh, arms, hands and fingers all in one piece and moving. Clothing... well, it was there- what was left of it anyway. She had started her battle with Naraku in durable but old clothes, knowing that whatever she wore would be ruined by the time everything was over. She was right: her jeans were muddied, bloodied, and torn to shreds and her denim jacket and shirt had fared no better. In fact, there wasn't much left of the jacket except the tattered sleeves with a thin strip connecting the two that she could feel stretching across her back.

Noticing the actual discomfort that the remains of the denim jacket caused, she shrugged her shoulders and it dropped off on it's own from there. At least her shirt was still, for the most part, in one piece. It was full of holes and whatever material was left was splattered, smeared, and spotted with blood and mud. Groaning with forced acceptance of her clothes unfortunate and untimely demise, she finally looked around her.

"Huh?" came her muttered confusion. "Midoriko?"


	10. Chapter 10 - Gray Area

Kagome turned around in a slow circle, confusion evident on her face. The landscape, or lack of, that she failed to really take stock of earlier was somewhat confusing to her senses. Everything was just a pale gray, sky and land alike. Though now that she thought about it, there really wasn't a distinction. She still felt the definite, grounded feeling of gravity but there was no difference between what she was standing on and what she was breathing and it confused the heck out of her.

Turning what she thought was 360 degrees, her eyes confirmed what she was already sure of: Midoriko was nowhere to be found. Brows furrowed, she took a step forward when she felt something. It was similar to a tingling sensation that started at her toes and quickly crept upward. She couldn't help the thought that crossed her mind next that she didn't bother to keep herself from saying it out loud:

"Great! What could possibly be happening to me now?"


	11. Chapter 11 - Gone From Sight

Her head whipped around, though what she was looking for, she had no idea. What was happening _now_? Really, hadn't she done enough? Well apparently not because the next thing she noticed was her feet beginning to disappear and she couldn't help the shriek that ripped itself from her throat. Honestly, dying was less scary than watching yourself, literally, slowly disappear.

Trembling as the tingling made it's way up her body, followed by her lack _of_ body, she felt panic overtake her body. She had no idea what was going on but she didn't like it at all. By now the feeling was at her neck and it actually would have made her cough had she not been so scared that she couldn't even breathe, let alone cough. It passed quickly enough from her neck to the bottom of her face as her shoulders disappeared.

Since she had no hands or feet, she couldn't flail as she wanted to and it was the most disconcerting feeling she had ever had, quickly replacing her earlier confusion on how she was different but not. Her gaze whipped around since her neck was now gone and rather than the scream that she wanted, instead there was silence. She had just enough rationality left to realize that her mouth was gone and the last thing she did was let a tear fall from her eye.

The moment it made it past her lower eyelid, it met free air. Kagome was gone and the only remaining shred of her existence fell and splashed upon the nonexistent ground.


	12. Chapter 12-Dark to Light & Death to Life

"...me..."

"...me..."

"...ome..."

"...agome..."

"...Kagome..."

"...ook! I ...ink it's ...rking! K...ome!"

"Kagome! Come on! You can do it!"

"Here she comes! Kagome! That's it!"

She mentally shied away from the voices calling her name. The last thing she remembered was all-consuming terror and she had yet to completely shake her fear. Why would they not leave her alone? She just wanted some peace and quiet for once. The calm, warm darkness had been so nice. It felt like she had been there for an instant and an eternity at the same time. She couldn't even remember why she had been so scared but in the calming darkness, it had not mattered. She had enjoyed that place and these pesky voices were making it impossible to go back!

"Alright, that's it. WENCH!" screamed the loudest and by far, most annoying voice she had yet ignored and with it came the unmistakable sensation of her teeth being rattled out of her head.

"Inuyasha! Knock it off! You could hurt her worse!" Yelled another voice but this time she was conscious enough to at least realize that it was female. Sango, her foggy brain reluctantly supplied.

Shippo was about to launch himself onto Inu-baka's head to pull his ears clean off when he heard his adopted mother make the first sound he had heard from her in hours.

"Mnnrghhhh..." came the indistinguishable groan from the girl in front of them. Shippo quickly scampered as close as he dared to her and looked on worriedly. He cautiously reached out a small, clawed, trembling hand and rested it on her bloodied upper arm.

"K-Kagome? Are you okay? Can you hear us now?" he questioned her quietly. Her face twitched slightly and although it was not the answer he was looking for, he gladly took it. He knew he saw her die when that awful youkai clawed her. She had been cleaved nearly in half! Not a minute later though, the Shikon had floated up from the pile of ash that been Naraku and made it's way to Kagome.

Before his very eyes the Jewel had landed on her chest and suddenly she had been engulfed in a pink bubble of purity and floating just above the group's heads in the middle of the battlefield. As he watched, the Jewel had pulsed and her wounds had, though slowly, stitched themselves back together. After that, the Jewel hadn't done anything but keep her suspended in the air until almost an hour later. At that point it had pulsed again, rather massively that time, and started giving off a distinctively evil aura. Even her protective bubble had darkened with maliciousness.

Though he had been scared nearly senseless at that point, it had confused him. The Jewel had always purified the moment it touched Kagome so how could it be putting off such darkness? It was then he had noticed it: though her wounds were now closed, she still had no heartbeat. His beloved mother figure was dead. He had started sobbing uncontrollably then. His Kagome had been taken from him before he had even had a chance to tell her that he loved her and looked to her as his mother.

Then, as if he wasn't confused and hurting enough, the Jewel's aura began to shrink and fade. Slowly at first and then quite suddenly, it vanished. Through his tear-filled eyes, he saw that though the Jewel was gone, Kagome was still in her bubble and floating. Would he not even be able to see his mom off to the afterlife? Was life so cruel as to keep him from being able to even do that much?

Hours later with the sun nearly sunken below the horizon, the group had nearly given up hope that their Kagome would be given back to them. Their despair quickly turned to confusion and then hope when Kagome's form started pulsing by itself and her barrier turned the bright pink they were used to. Even though they were all beyond exhausted by now, the group found the energy to pick themselves up from the various spots they found themselves in and made their way over to their friend.

It was then that the member of the group with the most sensitive hearing heard it- _thump... th-thump... th-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump, thump-thump_. Steadily growing stronger and more pronounced, they told everyone else what they heard. Shippo however, had remained quiet and intent on his mother's form. As her heart gained strength and rhythm, she began to float downwards toward the ground. He simply couldn't believe it. Would she be alright? Would he get the chance to tell her that he loved her? That he saw her as his mother? He swore to himself then and there that he would tell her the first chance he got and would never take her for granted again.


End file.
